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Japan Times
LIFE / Digital
Dec 5, 2007

Matsui's graceful robots evoke human emotion

It's a truism that the Japanese are experts at dressing up unpleasantness in cute garb. The ubiquitous cartoon workmen characters bowing in apology at construction zones are meant to make months of jackhammering slightly more bearable. Ditto for robots and the future.
Reader Mail
Dec 4, 2007

Fingerprinting issue trivialized

The Nov. 27 article by Mark Schreiber, "Prints rejected, scribe accepted," described Schreiber's re-entry to Japan after a trip to Saipan that appears to have been made purely for the opportunity to write the piece. The tone and conclusion made light of what many view as a serious issue, and were touted...
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Dec 4, 2007

Taking liberties? Readers respond

The Community Page received an unprecedented number of responses to the "Taking Liberties" series that ran in this section last month. Following are some examples.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 3, 2007

Takahashi wins second straight NHK Trophy

SENDAI — Using eight triple jumps and superior footwork, Daisuke Takahashi won his second straight NHK Trophy title and clinched a trip to the Grand Prix Final on Sunday afternoon.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Dec 3, 2007

Wrathful gods bear down on sinful global economy

'W rath of Gods" is the title of an award-winning documentary directed by Jon Gustafsson, the Iceland-born filmmaker. It could equally be the title of a documentary about the state of the global economy as it stands in November 2008.
MORE SPORTS
Dec 2, 2007

Frontiers hold off Skylarks

Runnings backs Yusuke Shinshi and Motoki Yoshida rushed for 100 and 117 yards, respectively, to guide the Fujitsu Frontiers to a 31-21 victory over the defending X League champion Onward Skylarks in the second round of the Final 6 at Yokohama Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Fujitsu overwhelmed the Skylarks...
Reader Mail
Dec 2, 2007

Tradition continues amid apathy

Janet Kenny's Nov. 22 letter, "The sadness in knowing their fate," made it clear why the whaling issue hasn't seen much progress in recent years. There is a fundamental difference in perception. The Japanese don't revere whales as "beautiful giants"; whales are viewed traditionally as another seafood....
EDITORIALS
Dec 2, 2007

Internationalizing high schools

While the government stumbles around with new educational policies, a quiet revolution in high schools has already happened. The number of foreign students enrolled in Japanese high schools has hit an all-time high of nearly 2,000, with a new peak of over 100 schools nationwide now instructing children...
BASEBALL / BASEBALL BULLET-IN
Dec 2, 2007

Preliminary baseball schedules reveal stretched-out season

The 2008 Japan pro baseball preliminary schedules are out, and it is always interesting for me to look ahead and see what quirks or oddities are on the agenda for the coming season.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Dec 2, 2007

Forever passing on ancient secrets of strategy

The Art of War: Sun Zi's Military Methods, foreword by Arthur Waldron. New York: Columbia University Press, 208 pp., with frontispiece, 2007, $19.95 (cloth) Here is a new translation of the sixth-century-B.C. Chinese military manual that has been long seen as the definitive work on strategies and tactics....
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel / ON THE ROAD
Dec 2, 2007

'Godzilla' stomps on the competition

They called it "Godzilla" — and with good reason. When the original turbocharged Nissan Skyline GT-R emerged in 1989, it was hailed as the greatest ever Japanese sports car, a coupe to challenge Europe's top speedsters such as the Porsche 911 and Ferrari Testarossa. It was never officially exported...
Japan Times
JAPAN / MIXED MATCHES
Dec 1, 2007

Bond forged in Nepal still going strong

Praveen Lama and Kazuko Tanikawa have lived in a bustling shopping street in Tokyo's Kita Ward since July 2003, when the Nepalese married his Japanese wife after a long-distance love affair that lasted several years through e-mails and phone calls.
MORE SPORTS
Nov 30, 2007

German pair Savchenko, Szolkowy claim short program

SENDAI — Reigning European champions Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy of Germany won the pairs short program on the first night of action at the NHK Trophy on Thursday.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink / NIHONSHU
Nov 30, 2007

Winter's the season for sake nouveau

Sake breweries are mostly dead quiet over the summer, and are just now getting into full swing as the chilly weather makes for more brewing-friendly conditions.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Nov 30, 2007

Ramen shop brings a taste of tonkotsu to Himeji

Noodle bars in Japan — especially those serving cheap, quick bowls of ramen (egg noodles) — play a key part in catering to the inebriated, just as kebab shops do in my native England.
COMMENTARY
Nov 30, 2007

Culture as a common asset

Politics (political phenomena) has become disconnected from culture (cultural phenomena) in East Asia.
CULTURE / Film
Nov 30, 2007

'The Nativity Story'

Motherhood is a rum thing to begin with but motherhood in the mid-teens, in superconservative ancient Nazareth, engaged to a man you've never met and who is definitely not the father of the baby — well, then it would be time to hit the panic button, if only such a thing had existed.
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2007

China warship on historic visit

A warship from China docked Wednesday at Tokyo's Harumi Pier, making the first port call in Japan by a Chinese naval vessel from the communist country — a highly symbolic display of improving ties between the two Asian giants.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Nov 29, 2007

Translator of the universal and the local

In his 1987 book "Ireland Kiko (Travels in Ireland)," the renowned historical novelist and essayist Ryotaro Shiba (1923-96) observed that "the typical Irish character could easily be dramatized," and that "Ireland is one of the richest countries for the literary arts, with people whose daily lives are...
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Nov 29, 2007

Defect-finding autoworker blows whistle on new 'Toyota way'

The California autoworker who is suing Toyota and others in a whistle-blower lawsuit said Tuesday she was merely carrying out the quality-conscious "Toyota way" in spotting defects when managers cracked down on her efforts and demoted her.
SUMO / SUMO SCRIBBLINGS
Nov 28, 2007

Hakuho notches another as the ozeki raise eyebrows

This year's Kyushu Basho, which ended Sunday, saw Hakuho stride through the muck and grime to claim the fifth title of his career with a 12-win, 3-loss record. When push came to shove, his class shined through. Hakuho, who is looking more and more like the second coming of the great yokozuna Futabayama,...
COMMENTARY
Nov 28, 2007

Labor wins by a Rudd-slide

WATERLOO, Ontario — Poor John Howard. Reckless on climate change, clueless in Iraq, fickle on civil liberties, mean to migrants and minorities, ruthless toward the workers — and now jobless. He also was set to lose the Parliament seat he has represented since 1974, the first sitting prime minister...
Reader Mail
Nov 27, 2007

Sticky details about America

I was inspired by Roger Pulvers' Nov. 18 Counterpoint article, "How well do you really know Japan?" So I put together my own test on America. Many non-Japanese are up on Japan, but how well do Americans know their own land? Try this quiz:

Longform

Mamoru Iwai, stationmaster of Keisei Ueno Station, says that, other than earthquake-proofing, the former Hakubutsukan-Dobutsuen (Museum-Zoo) Station has remained untouched.
Inside Tokyo's 'phantom' stations — and the stories they tell